Wouldn't it be grand

Fri, Nov 27, 2009    to del.icio.us

Success in college football doesn't come without some sacrifice, including sometimes missing out on Thanksgiving dinner with the family.

Instead of spending time around the table with parents Wayne Aurich and Donna and Toby Tubich, Spring Lake graduate Robbie Aurich enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast with his other family — his Minnesota Duluth teammates and coaches.

"My parents will be getting (to Minnesota) on Friday, but we're celebrating Thanksgiving as a team," Aurich said on Wednesday. "A couple kids on the team that live locally, we'll go to their homes to eat."

"Aside from a small group back home, these guys are my best friends in the world," he added. "You spend so much time with each other, it's kind of hard not to build some close-knit relationships."

It's a Thanksgiving blessing for Aurich, who is once again in the thick of the Division II national championship conversation with his Bulldog teammates.

Maybe this is a magical time of the year for Minnesota Duluth. Nearly a year ago to this date, Aurich and the Bulldogs turned in a performance that shook the landscape in Division II college football.

The Bulldogs entered as underdogs at Lubbers Stadium in Allendale on the frosty Saturday afternoon, but left as stunning winners after they limited the high-powered Grand Valley State offense to only 13 points and 269 yards of total offense in an overtime upset over the four-time Division II national champions.

Duluth used the huge confidence-boosting victory to propel it to the program's first national title two weeks later, a 21-14 win over Northwest Missouri State in Florence, Ala.

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Regardless, Aurich, a 2006 Spring Lake graduate, calls the victory over the Lakers one of the most important in school history.

"It's well-known that Grand Valley coaches have said that we played them as well as anyone ever has," Aurich said, a 5-foot-11, 240-pound middle linebacker, who was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's Defensive Player of the Year. "We expect to do the same (on Saturday).

"Not a lot of people gave us a chance to beat those guys. When we did, we realized we could beat anyone in the country."

An intriguing playoff rematch between the two schools will kick-off on Saturday at 1 p.m., but this time, Duluth (11-1) plays hosts to the Lakers (11-1) in the quarterfinal round.

Duluth might have caught a break a year ago when it faced a GVSU squad that was without leading rusher Jimmy Berezik, who was suspended following an on-campus altercation with the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department during an underage drinking sweep. Berezik was reinstated this season and has gone on to lead the Lakers with 1,153 yards rushing. Combined with slot back Blake Smolen and quarterback Brad Iciek, a Harlon Hill Award nominee, Grand Valley is back to overwhelming opposing defenses, averaging close to 38 points a game.

"We realize they are the most talented team we're going to face this year," Aurich said. "Their playmakers have unbelievable talent, but we're going to do our best to contain them."

The Bulldogs contained GVSU a year ago by sending waves of pressure at Iciek. The result was a miserable contest for the former Grandville standout, as he completed only 13-of-46 passes for 160 yards with three interceptions. It was the kind of performance that opposing quarterbacks have grown accustomed to against Duluth's defense, which has limited opponents to an average of only 11 points and 230 yards per contest.

Aurich gives credit to the development of the team's defensive secondary, but the redshirt junior has also played a vital role, leading the team with 84 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and two interceptions — stats that backed up a preseason defensive player of the year nod by conference coaches.

Aurich credits his playmaking skills to a grueling summer of training, beginning with sessions at Acceleration Sports Training in Grand Rapids, where he focused on his speed with fellow Spring Lake graduates and training partners Chad Setterbo and McHale Smith. Later in the afternoon, he'd finish his training inside Spring Lake Middle School's weight room.

"I'm definitely a step or two faster than I was a year or two ago," he said. "It's helped with chasing plays on the backside. Our coaches are always saying 'speed kills,' and it definitely helps to be able to keep up."

Aurich arrived back in Duluth following the Fourth of July holiday intent on creating more gridiron memories at a University previously known as only a hockey school.

"We don't talk about it everyday, but it was our goal from the beginning of the season to win it all again," he said. "We're still hungry for that ring. We want another."

It would mean pulling another victory over GVSU, a school Aurich said he "really wanted to play for," following high school.

"They felt I didn't fit into their system," he said. "I met with their coaches a couple times and went to their camps, but it didn't work out and we went our separate ways."

Aurich said he doesn't use the GVSU coaching staff's decision as motivation.

"Honestly, I haven't really thought about it," he said. "I couldn't be happier on where I ended up. All the other stuff, I just put it in the past."